​I take my friends Christmas shopping because they know what is already in my closet. I'll have no excuse when I try to buy something for myself instead of Christmas gifts. They know that I already have five pairs of black jeans! Friends know things about us that others may not. That's why when Jesus says, I no longer call you servants, but a friend in John 15:15, we don't want to miss what He means.

We are called to be disciples. So when a junior high student came to me and asked if I would mentor her, I couldn’t say no! We meet every Wednesday, It’s so easy for us to say well, yea she needs a mentor, but forget –– Hey I need a mentor! Did you know that even Jesus felt the need to sit before teachers of the law and ask questions? We find this in Luke chapter 2. If Jesus felt the need to be taught we have no excuses. 

​Find your purpose! What is my purpose? How do I know? I had this realization the other day while talking on the phone with my sister: We both discovered what we wanted to do career-wise while really serving others. My sister discovered she wanted to be a school counselor when serving as an RA in college. She got her focus off of herself and that’s when God showed her a passion for people that she wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. I am not saying this is a guarantee, but if you’re wondering what to do next after high school, after college, after losing a job, after having kids… would you consider serving? Get your eyes off of yourself and see what God reveals to you. Remember: “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” - Matthew 16:25

​I leave many things until the last second. My homework plans –– even filling up the gas tank. Many times, when I am praying, I feel confused. Is God listening? Will He hear me? Will He answer me? I feel like He waits until the last second to answer me. However, unlike me, He's not frantic. He knows exactly what He is doing. 

​There are studies that show how keeping a gratitude journal every day can give you better sleep, more optimism, and feel more connected to those around you. I need more of that! This week we are going to learn what the Bible says about Gratitude. The best place to look is in the book of Psalms.

​I remember when Instagram first launched. I would use a filter on a photo and suddenly my college life looked a little better. In Philippians chapter 4, God gives us 5 filters to look at life through. 

I went to my husband’s home town for a fish fry. I learned something from an odd encounter. When we come to know Christ we have something in common with people we would usually have nothing in common with. In John 17:23 we read about this unity "so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." Have you found community with others who have nothing common with you, but because of Jesus you have everything in common? This week's episode is a story about just that.

​Why do bad things happen to good people? She asked me… I didn’t know a lot of things. I thought she was bad at gym class like I was and that was why we were walking around the track. I didn’t know she had cystic fibrosis. I mean I did, but I didn’t know what that meant. When she passed away my senior year of high school, I started asking the question of why do bad things happen to good people? This is what I learned from going back to the Bible.

​I have always been bad at coloring books. When I was in grade school the "cool girls" colored their coloring books in the lines beautifully. And then there was me… I couldn’t, no matter how hard I would try, color in the lines. When I think of grace and law I think of coloring books. Without the law, we’d have no picture –– The lines. But without grace, the color, through Christ we would never measure up. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." –– Romans 3:23-24 

​Although we have messages every day telling us we need more, we need to be more –– the important thing is we know that God is enough. He is the only one who can make our lives count, pay the price for our mistakes, and redeem us. Rich or poor our lives do end and we need a savior.